Cataclysm
by shadowno
Summary: The sequel to Infestation. With the Gigases controlling the world, can the survivors ban together and save what remains of the planet?
1. Chapter 1

Cataclysm

Chapter 1

Prologue

Five years ago, a mass organization ran the world. They were known as Shinra. The Shinra electric power company was the worlds only supplier or power, making the world as some see it "civilized". They started off as a normal company, with innocent goals. Soon, greed took over. They discovered that their reactors could create valuable materia, a substance that was formed by concentrated MAKO, and which took years to form naturally. Upon discovering this, they began mass producing it, and selling it. Still, this wasn't enough to satisfy the owner of the company. He ordered his scientist to began working on new, more powerful materia. Soon their were many, more powerful, more dangerous materia. People began to die. That was when the team of scientist began working on a new type of materia. More powerful then life, which was meant to save close to death people, revive materia could resurrect anyone. Soon, everyone was saving up for the materia. Back then, I was part of an organization known as Avalanche. We were on a mission to put an end to Shinra when it happened. A man committed suicide, but forgot to remove his materia. He was resurrected, and started attacking people. Soon, they too were resurrected, and joined in the slaughter. We attempted to flee back to the headquarters, but ended up barricaded in my mothers home. Cloud, and the others found us there, but soon after that, some of our friends disappeared. We couldn't wait for them any longer, and we escaped the city that had become a tomb. We made it to the city of Kalm, and spread word of what happened. Soon afterwards, Shinra began to cover up the accident, claiming it was actually caused by a MAKO reactor exploding. The Gigases lay forgotten in Midgar for years. Then, about a year ago, it happened. No one knows who did it or why, but the doors to Midgar were opened, the Gigases escaped. They began to spread over the world. We could of stopped them, but the world was cast into turmoil. Instead of joining together to kill the Gigases, they turned on Shinra. The company was destroyed for it's lies. But the the Gigases soon attacked the cities, and me and my friends were forced to flee. We were picked off, one by one. Soon, it was only me, Red XIII and Barret left. We found ourselves in the caves between Kalm and Junon, but we had no idea where to go from here.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Aerith, you need to wake up." The voice said softly. Aerith opened her eyes, finding Red XIII standing next to her.  
"What's wrong Red?" She asked.

"Nothing, it's just that we need to keep moving." He replied.  
"Oh, right." Aerith said. They had stopped an hour ago, taking a rest in the caves. They had decided to try for Fort Condor, knowing that it was extremely well defended because of Shinra attacking it so often in the past. Fort Condor was one of the only towns that managed to keep from coming under the control of Shinra. Aerith climbed to her feat, looking around the dully illuminated cavern. The light radiated by the fire was becoming dimmer as Barret attempted to stomp it out.

"What time is it?" Aerith asked, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm not sure, it's definitely early morning, the sun isn't up, but you can see the sky is starting to brighten." Red XIII said. Finally, Barret managed to put out the fire, causing the cavern to go black, before their eyes could adjust to the sudden light levels. They began moving, walking through the quiet cave, hoping that it would stay that way. Finally, they reached the exit. Emerging from the cave, they quickly looked around them, searching for any signs of danger. They found none.

"Do you think the outbreak has reached this far yet?" Aerith asked, not directing the question at anyone in particular.

"I doubt it, after all they're just a bunch of stupid, mindless drones." Barret said.

Red XIII looked unsure. "Well, either way we should keep our guard up." He said. "Keep your eyes open."

Both Aerith and Barret nodded in understanding, and slowly began walking forward. Aerith's eyes couldn't help but dart back and forth from side to side, scanning the area for threats.

"Run!" yelled a voice. Aerith recognized it, but couldn't place it right at that point, all she knew is that it wasn't Red's or Barret's. She instinctively began running, soon afterwards, Red and Barret followed her example.

"They're coming!" Barret yelled, moving as fast as his bulky body could carry him. Aerith looked back, seeing hordes of Gigases pouring from the cave they had just exited out of. Her first thought was actually how lucky they were to start moving so early, but it was immediately replaced by another one.

"Where do we go? There's nothing around." She said, already noticing it was getting harder to breath.

"Just keep moving" Red XIII said. "We're getting close to the Fort."

Sure enough, no sooner had he said this, than Aerith saw the top of Fort Condor appear on the horizon. They continued to run, the Gigases still far behind them, but slowly gaining ground. As they neared the fort, they saw a large wall, compiled mostly of old junk, surrounding it. Luckily, as they neared it, a gate swung open.  
"Get in here, hurry up!" A man dressed in some sort of leather armor called. They ran into the gate, and it swung shut with a loud clang. Moments later, a repetitive thudding started as the Gigases started ramming themselves against it. Guards on top of the wall began firing weapons into the crowd, causing them to quickly retreat.

"Damn Zombies." The man who had yelled for them said, holstering his rifle. Strapped to his leg, was a large pistol.

"They're actually called Gigases." Aerith informed him.

The guy looked at her sternly. "Round here they're zombies, and if y'all don't like it round here, y'all can take a walk outside." He said. He began walking away, but spoke as he did. "I suggest you go talk to my father, the mayor. He'll be at the top of the Fort."

The group watched his as he vanished inside of the hole dug into the ground. They looked at each other.

"Don't suppose we have a choice?" Barret asked.

"Not if we want to remain here." Red XIII answered, and began walking towards the hole. Barret followed him.

"Do we want to stay here?" Aerith asked herself silently, before running to catch up with them.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"You can't stay here." the old man said, pouring himself a drink from the liquor cabinet. From the smell of him, Aerith could tell it wasn't his first, and wouldn't be his last.

"Where else could we possibly go? This is the safest place on the planet right now. It's probably the only place left that isn't dead." Barret argued.

"Not true." The old man said, his words slurred. "I heard that there's a town up north that's still safe, not even a single sign of those damn Zombies. Icicle lodge I think it was. Some of our people who weren't strong enough to take a stand to protect the fort started heading that way, I hope none of them made it."

"That's an awful thing to say!" Aerith burst, not able to hold in the anger the old man's lunatic comments were making her. "How could you wish death on someone, especially people you know."

"I don't care about them, in this world, it's all about survival of the fittest, and so long as I'm the Mayor, I am in charge. Now you will leave this fort, and never come back. Good luck getting through those Zombies!" He said, the last part at an obvious sarcastic tone. The next things happened so fast, Aerith wasn't sure what order it happened. Barret raised his gun, just as the Mayor called for the guards. Barret shot the old man, causing blood to spurt from his chest. The old man fell to the ground, clutching his chest. The door burst open, and Red XIII tackled Aerith to the ground just as the gunshots rang out. Barret took a bullet in the shin, but returned fire. Red XIII quickly drug Aerith behind the safety of a counter, and ran at he guards, their shots barely missing him. He lept into the air, crashing into a guard, causing him to stumble back, falling down the staircase. Barret used this distraction to shoot the other guard. But they could hear more coming. Red XII quickly shut the door, locking it.

"We've got to get out of here quick." He said.

"Way ahead of you." Barret said, raising his gun towards the wall. His gun started to glow, and soon emitted a large burst of energy, blowing a hole straight into the wall.

"Duck!" A familiar voice warned Aerith. She instinctively lept to the floor, just as the locked door blew open, sending the door flying over where she had been standing just seconds earlier. Aerith felt some strange force push against her, sending her sliding out the hole Barret had just opened. Red XIII and Barret followed her quickly. They all fell roughly 20 feet before smacking into the ground hard. The impact blurred her vision. She looked around wearily, seeing that both Barret and Red XIII were knocked unconscious by the fall. She heard voices above her, and looked up to see the guards standing in the hole, looking down at them.

"They look dead to me." one of them said, and then they disappeared from view. She felt a hand grasp her shoulder, and turned towards it. Her vision was still badly blurred, but the mass of blue and black pulled her to her feet.  
"It's not safe here, you have to keep moving." He said.

"Zack?" She asked weakly before falling unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Aerith awoke in the middle of a forest clearing. It took her a moment to force her eyes to focus, and then she quickly looked around her. She found Red XIII and Barret laying next to her unconscious. How had they gotten here? She wondered. She quickly shook Red XIII, awakening him. She then hurried over to Barret, and awoke him as well.

"Where are we?" Red XIII asked, looking around the clearing.

"I don't know, but we should find cover before any Gigases come along." Aerith said.

"Then let's get moving." Barret said.

"First we need to find out our location." Red said.

"We're outside Gongaga." A voice said behind them. They quickly spun, finding the voices owner sitting in a tree.

Aerith stared at him, as he jumped down from the tree. He slowly walked towards the group. He walked up to Aerith, who continued to stare at him in disbelief.

"But..." Aerith began, but was stopped when he pressed a finger to her lips.

"Shh." he said. Removing his finger from her lips. He pulled her close to him, embracing her lovingly. She began crying quietly as he held onto her.

"I don't understand." Aerith finally said.

He released her. "I don't understand either." He admitted. "But I'm here to stay."

"Oh Zack!" Aerith cried, falling into him. She wept with tears of joy as they embraced.

"I hate to be a nuisance, but may a request that we continue this reunion another time?" Red XIII said. "I feel that we are still in the open, and rather exposed."

"He's right." Zack said. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you into the town. It's been abandoned, so I'm sure we'll be able to find a temporary shelter there."

"I ain't got any better ideas." Barret said. "Lead the way."

They followed Zack as he lead them through the forest, heading towards the remains of the town that was once Gongaga. Once they reached the town, Zack lead them through the empty streets, and to an old abandoned house. Once inside, he latched the door tightly.

"Looks like the town didn't fare well in the outbreak." Barret noted.

"Actually, it's always looked like this, since the explosion of the MAKO reactor a few years ago." Zack said.

"Oh, sorry." Barret said, embarrassed.

"So, how are you here?" Aerith asked.

"I'm not sure, but it has something to do with Shinra."

"Shinra's dead." Red XIII explained.

"No, they're just in hiding. They've already elected a new leader. They're trying to come up with a way to quell the people's uprising, and get rid of the Gigas threat at the same time."

"But, then where are they?"

"They've taken over Icicle Lodge. They're trying to lure people their so that they can amass a greater army, and use them to defend their new area why they finish preparations for their plan."

"What's their plan?"

"I don't know, but I think we need to stop them."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Aerith was confused, her situation was completely insane, not to mention odd. She was currently on a boat taking them north to Bone Village, where they would go through Shell Village to get to Icicle Lodge, where her dead boyfriend was going to help them overthrow a thought dead government, and stop them from saving the world. It made no sense at all, but still, something in her head told her that Shinra was up to something that could cause more harm than good. She was currently on the deck, leaning against the rail near the bow of the ship. Zack walked up, leaning against the rail next to her.

"How are you doing?" He asked her.

She continued to stare out at the open ocean, the waves crashing peacefully against the boat. "It's just overwhelming. I mean, so many people have died, friends of ours. And it's all because of Shinra, and when they had a chance to fix it, they decided to sweep it under the rug, like it never happened."

"That's Shinra for you. I mean, they shot me instead of admitting Sephiroth freaked out in Nibelheim, didn't they?"

"Yeah, I guess your right, but it's still hard to understand how someone could be so ruthless. Don't they have any concept of the common good?"

"Sure they do, it's called their wallets, and how full they are."

"Well, at least they did one thing right."

"And what's that."

"They gave me back you."

Zack smile, putting an arm around Aerith's shoulders. "Yeah." He said. They just stood like that, in silence for a moment. The soothing sound of the waves in the back ground. Then the air was filled with a low rumble. Zack looked around, and then up.

"Aerith." he said, pointing. She looked up, seeing the black dots in the distance.

"What are they?" She asked.

"I don't know, but maybe we should go below deck." He said, taking her by the arm. They were halfway to the door when the explosion rocked the ship. Zack's hand slipped from Aerith, and she stumble to the railing, grabbing it.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" Zack said, just as another explosion rocked the ship. Water splashed on to the deck. Neither shot had hit the ship, but actually the water around them, throwing waves up and over the rails. Zack was halfway to her when the third explosion rocked the ship. Aerith felt the boat dip under her, and in seconds, she was in the air, going over the rail. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the splash, but it never came. She opened her eyes, finding herself hanging over the side of the ship. She looked up, find Zack hanging onto her desperately.

"Aerith, can you climb up?" He asked, grunting. Another explosion rocked the ship, but Zack managed to keep his grip strong. She watched as a man with wings flew past them. On his back, some sort of rocket pack. Zack tugged with all his strength, managing to pull her back up to the relative safety of the deck.

"Get inside!" he yelled, as he ran towards the man that had just landed on the deck.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Zack pushed Aerith into the door, and slammed it shut behind her. She quickly turned, trying to push the door open, but he had wedged it shut using a board. She watched as he turned towards the man who had landed on the deck. There were still 4 men flying around the boat.

"The acting president humbly requests you come to icicle lodge with us." The man that had landed said.

"That's funny, I didn't know that humble requests normally began with trying to blow someone up."

"I could lie, and say that we thought you were some of those things."

"Listen, can we skip this whole ordeal and get to the part where we turn you down?"

"If you're on that much of a rush to die."

Zack smiled at these words.

"It's 5 against 1." The man continued. "You don't stand a chance."

Barret chose this moment to come out of the steering room, gun at the ready. The man turned his attention to Barret, leaving an opening to Zack. Zack dove at the man, catching him by the throat. He sent a kick up into the groin, grabbing the man's weapon. Barret aimed at the nearest flying foe, and fired, shooting him out of the air. Before another one could respond, Zack turned his new weapon on them, launching one of the capsules. It exploded on contact. With only two being left, Barret fired at one, but missed. Zack also missed firing at the other one. One of them shot at the boat, blowing a hole in the main structure of it. Luckily the hole was above water level. Zack aimed again, but found his weapon empty. Barret on the other hand, was far from it. He began firing at the one close to Zack, hitting him in the chest. The rocket on his back malfunctioned, shooting him high into the air, before stalling. He fell 50 feet, hitting the water hard. Unfortunately, the other one had circled around the ship. It fire at Barret, hitting him in the middle of his back. The explosion sent him flying across the ship. He hit the rail hard, breaking through it, and fell into the ocean below. The man started to aim at Zack, but Zack was too quick. He ran at the last remaining enemy, who was trying to fly back out of reach. Zack jumped over the side of the ship, reaching for the man. Zack soon realized that the man was just out of his reach. Out of no where, Red XIII burst from the steering room, and ran at Zack and the man. Just as Zack began to fall towards the water, Red XIII lept after him, landing on top of him. He used Zack to boost himself up higher. He clasped his fangs on the last enemies neck, biting hard. Than man's screamed was silent, as his wind pipe had been crushed by the force of the attack. Zack quickly grabbed Red's tail, causing him to groan in pain. The dead man's rocket drifted towards the boat. Red XIII and Zack jumped off, and pushed the man away, causing him to fly out to see, where he would float as a corpse until he ran out of fuel.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Aerith sat on the deck of the boat. Slowly, but surely, it was starting to sink from the damage caused by the fight. So Shinra had decided to show them self at last?

"This has got me worried." Zack said. She listened as he spoke with Red XIII in the captains room. Their voices echoing out through the open window.

"I know, for Shinra to openly force recruitments is a bad sign. Just how powerful are they that they believe they can force people to join them? What exactly are they planning to do."

"I don't know, but I shouldn't even be here. I don't know if it's Shinra who's behind this, or something else, but I'm supposed to be dead."

"Hmm, I wonder." Red XIII said. "Close that window."

Aerith continued to listen, but heard nothing. Now she was curious, what was it Red had been thinking? She considered getting closer to listen in, but decided against it. Were they hiding something from her? It was kind of odd that they hadn't told her they were going to talk. It made no sense to her, but she had to trust in her friends. Especially with the northern continent on the horizon.

==##==

The boat ran ashore on a beach, giving the three of them a chance to get off of it. They reached the plains, and looked back at the boat, to find that it had been swept away.

"Well, I guess their isn't any turning back now." Zack said. The group slowly began making their way north. Aerith kept looking around, searching for any sign of Gigases, but found none. Could it be the the whole continent had escaped the outbreak? That would make traveling a lot easier. They could only hope they managed to reach Icicle Lodge without running into any trouble. They continued to move over the plains, making their way towards their destination. Eventually, they found themselves in Bone Village.

"OK, all we have to do is make our way through the Forest, and then Shell Village, and we'll be home free." Zack said. I think we should spend the night here, and then make our way in the morning.

Red and Aerith agreed, they barricaded themselves in the former office of the dig site. Resting easy until morning without incident. Unknown to them, however, they would soon find that their path was not so straight forward.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The group made their way through the forest, not knowing that they were slowly walking into what would change their fortune greatly. After hours walking through the thick underbrush, they came across a clearing.

"Perhaps we should rest here?" Red XIII said, sitting down.

"Yeah, I'm pooped." Zack said, sitting against a tree.

"I'm not sure, we should probably keep moving." Aerith said. She had a uneasy feeling.

"What's wrong, scared of the Boogeyman? Zack said, teasing.

"No, it's just there could be Gigases." Aerith argued.

"Oh, come on hun." Zack said, standing up. "We haven't seen a single Gigas since we set sail the other day. They haven't reached up hear yet."

"Still, this forest is creepy. It gives me a bad feeling." Aerith said. "Can we just keep moving, please."

Zack stared at her a minute, and then said. "OK I guess. We can get moving. Come one Red." He said. They started walking towards the other side of the clearing when they heard the sounds of twigs snapping behind them. They all turned back, seeing a huge amount of Gigases emerging from the trees.  
"Run!" Zack yelled, grabbing Aerith by the hand as the three of the bolted for the cover of the trees. The Gigases let out an animalistic roar, and began to chase them.

"Run faster!" Zack said, pulling Aerith along. They ran into the trees, cutting back and forth between trees. The Gigases managed to keep on their heels, moving very quickly and precisely behind them. Aerith's hand slipped out of Zack's, and before they could grab again, the ground cut off sharply below Aerith's feet. She rolled down the steep hill, crashing into the ground at the bottom roughly. Zack didn't have any time to go after her, he kept going after Red XIII, thinking of a way they could get back to Aerith. Aerith watched in horror, as Gigases began making their way down the hill. She climbed to her feet groggily, and began running away from them. Luckily, there were only a few Gigases that had chosen to follow her. She ran as fast as she could through the trees, the Gigases slowly gaining on her. Just as she past a tree, one of the Gigases grabbed a hold of her jacket. The tree above her creaked, as something fell out of it. All she saw was a flash of yellow, as the Gigases arm fell off. She stumbled back, watching as her savior hacked away at the Gigases, tearing them apart piece by piece. When he was finished, his sword was stained red. Aerith climbed to her feet, staring at her savior.

"Cloud?" She asked, staring at him. Cloud turned to face her, blood stained his face.

"Aerith, I've been looking for you." He said.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Tifa." He said, shaking her. She gave him no response. "Tifa." Still, she lay in his arms. He looked down at her hand, at the ring on it. He pulled her close, burying his face into her hair. Tears ran from his eyes.

Around him, Gigases had encircled him. They slowly boxed him in, moving in for the kill.

Suddenly, all pain was gone from him. His leg was forgotten, his sadness as well. Rage took over him. He slowly stood, his hand clutching his sword tightly. The first Gigas grabbed him by the arm, it was like flipping a switch. Cloud cut into it in a flash, severing it in two. The other Gigases began to lung at him, attacking him. Cloud fought like a caged animal, lashing out at everything that moved. Soon, he stood in the center of a circle of bodies. None of the blood that covered him was his. He walked over to Tifa, picking her up off of the ground. He began to walk back to the house everyone was at.

==##==

"When I got back, nobody was there." He explained. "Of course, by then I was pretty messed up. I had to rest up for weeks, barely moving except to feed myself. Finally, I escaped, and came to find you guys. I figure out about The Truth, but I could never track you guys down, You were always one step ahead of me." he finished. "And now, here we are."

"Cloud, I'm so sorry. We didn't know what had happened to you. We had to get out of the city."

"It's OK." Cloud said. "I know you guys did what was best."

"Well, either way, I'm thankful you arrived when you did. If it wasn't for you..."

"You would have been fine. You're stronger than you admit."

The two sat in silence for a moment. They were currently barricaded inside a shack near Shell Village. Cloud had led Aerith to it after saving her from the Gigases  
"So what now?" Cloud asked.  
"Well, we were heading for Icicle Lodge. We think Shinra is up to something there."

"Well, then I'll take you there. With any luck, we'll meet up with the others." Cloud said, standing up. He moved over to the door, looking out a small hole he had carve into it. "We should go now, the coast is clear."

Aerith stood up, brushing the dust off of her dress. "Yeah, let's go." She said.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"This can't be possible." Aerith said, staring in disbelief. Icicle Lodge no longer existed as she remembered it. In it's place, a large tower that could have been an attempted replica of the old Shinra Building in Midgar. Luckily, the doors were unguarded. Cloud and Aerith slipped inside of it, moving through the empty building. "Something isn't right." Aerith said, turning to Cloud.

"You're right, there's no way they leave this place unguarded."

The banging from the doorway made both of them jump. They stared at the door, watching as it bent under some sort of weight. The banging continued, causing Cloud to look at Aerith.

"Perhaps you should run." he said. Aerith stared at him blankly for a moment, and then turned, walking towards the elevators. The banging got louder behind her. "A little faster!" Cloud called behind her. She ran towards the elevators, reaching them just as the door burst open. She entered it quickly, hitting the button for the top floor. She watched the Gigases, hundreds of them, rush at Cloud as he raised his Buster sword to fight. The doors slid shut, cutting off her view, and the elevator began to rise. She waited as it rose higher and higher, ascending the building to the top floor. She heard the sounds of battle before the doors even opened. As they slid open, the first thing she saw were Red XIII and Zack. They were crouched behind an overturned desk, as they were fired upon by unknown assailants. Aerith slowly stuck her head out of the metal box, just far enough to see who was shooting at her friends. At the top of a stair case, undoubtedly the one that lead to the President's office, Reno, Rude, and Elena stood shooting at Zack and Red XIII. Aerith quickly pulled back into the safety of the elevator. She had to do something, but what could she do? She stood in the elevator for the longest time, trying come up with and idea to save her two friends. Finally, she came up with a plan. A horrible plan, admittedly, but a plan. Taking off one of her shoes, she peered around the corner of the elevator, aimed, and threw. The shoe flew the air, and struck Reno in the side of the head.

"What the fuck!" Reno cried out, grabbing his head in pain. Rude stopped firing to check on his friend, giving Zack a chance to rush them. Elena kept shooting, but Zack easily deflected her shots. Reno and Rude tried to raise their guns to fire, but were to late as Zack reached them. Zack lashed out, cutting, and cleaving with his weapon. At the end of it all, the three Turks lay dead, their bodies pouring out blood. Aerith exited the Elevator, walking into the vision of Zack. Zack saw her, surprised, and ran to her. He embraced her lovingly.

"I thought you were gone." He said, his voice breaking. He hugged her tightly.

"I would have been, but Cloud saved me."  
"Really? I thought he was dead."

"Me too, but I guess he survived. I think he's dead though, he held off a bunch of Gigases so I could get up here."

"You're probably right." Zack said. "Come on Red, Aerith, it's time for us to finish this." he said. Together, the three of them all ascended the stairway.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The trio emerged into an elaborately decorated room, outfitted with red carpeting and oak walls. The rooms center piece, however, was the exquisite oak desk at the head of the room. Behind the desk, sat the mastermind behind the new Shinra. Before the three heroes could act, they were seized by the guards, their weapons take away. Zack put up a struggle, but soon the three found themselves in hand cuffs.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my three favorite experiments." The man behind the desk said.

"Hojo! You're supposed to be dead." Red XIII growled.

Hojo continued you on as if he hadn't heard him. "Well, as glad as I am to have you all back, I've moved up in the world, I'm past breeding two dying species. The Cetra have come to their end, along with the Felinuos Species. I've found a new means of resurrection, though my two attempts at it were failures, I'm sure that I can make it work this time." As he said this, he walked over to the computer behind his desk. "I've created a portal to the next realm. Using this computer, I may resurrect anyone I see fit to do my bidding. Zack, you were very disappointing, being my very first choice. Even your friend, Strife, was a failure. Both of you ran off before I could even give my orders. But they say the third time is the charm. By pressing this button, I'll begin the process." He said, pressing the button on the computer.

"Hojo! You've destroyed the whole planet with your last experiment! The Gigases have run wild, wreaking havoc where ever they reach."

"An unfortunate set back, indeed. But using the men at my disposal, a soon repaired one."

"The dead are meant to stay dead!" Aerith cried. "You can't play god. If you have any shred of humanity left in you, you'll stop this."

"But I don't have any." Hojo said, smiling. "Soon the portal, and our new tool will come forth, then another, and another. We will have so much power that we may destroy the Gigases, and then the rest of the world. We will rule it! Everything will be at my disposal. I will have limitless supply for my experiments."

"You're a sick man Hojo!" Came a voice from the stairs. The guards turned to fight, but Cloud was to quick. He easily cut all of them down with his sword. After pulling his sword from the last corpse, he turned he cut the binds of his friends. Free now, the four of them turned their attention to Hojo.

"You loose." Zack said.

"It's over." Aerith added.

"You're finished." Red XIII finished off.

All three were caught off guard by Cloud's next words. "No, not yet." He said, pointing to the glow that had started resonating behind Hojo.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Yes, come forth and do my bidding!" Hojo commanded, as the gate opened behind him. Slowly, a figure began to emerge from the energy field. The Aerith gasped as she watched the man step out of the gate.

"This portal, is the link between the afterlife and this world." Hojo said. "I have a limitless army, and this is only my first slave."

The wind created by the portal caused the man's long silver hair to flap gently, along with his long black robe.

"Destroy them!" Hojo ordered.

Cloud readied his sword, preparing for yet another showdown with his greatest enemy, but Sephiroth didn't move towards them. Instead, he slowly turned toward the man believe to be his master.

"I..." Sephiroth began, thrusting his sword into the gut of Hojo. "will now allow you to destroy my vessel!" Hojo's eyes flew open as the weapon cut through him. He grabbed the blade, a feeble attempt to defend himself. Sephiroth tilted the sword, lifting the scientist into the air, and flung Hojo into the open portal. Sephiroth turned back towards the group, glaring at them, but without a word, he reentered the portal behind him. Slowly, the portal began closing.

"We should go too." Cloud said softly. Aerith quickly looked back and forth between Zack and Cloud.

"Yeah." Zack added.

"No!" Aerith said, realizing what they were talking about. "You guys are here, you can stay here."

"We don't belong here, Aerith." Zack said, taking hold of her shoulder. "Cloud and I belong on the other side of that portal."

"No, you belong here with me." Aerith argued.

"Red," Cloud said, "destroy that computer once me and Zack cross over."

Red XIII nodded in understanding.

"No, you guys can't go!" Aerith argued.

"Aerith, we're going to go through the portal, but we'll always be with you." Zack said, trying to comfort her.

"Whether you see us or not." Cloud added.

"No, you can't do it."

"Um, I do believe we have a time limit." Red XIII interrupted, nodding his head towards the closing portal.

"Sorry Zack." Cloud said, punching Aerith in the face, and knocking her out. "We have to go."  
Together, the two friends walked into the portal, as soon as they had vanished, Red XIII ran over to the desk and knocked the computer off of the desk. It smashed on the floor sending small pieces sliding away. The portal immediately shut, leaving Aerith and Red XIII alone in the building. Red XIII went over to Aerith, and gently shook her awake.

"What happened?" She asked.

"They're gone. We have to get back to somewhere safe." Red XIII said.

"But where?"

"I don't know."

The two stood their, thinking of what to do for a moment, and then Aerith spoke.

"I have an idea."


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue

Three months later, me and Red XIII successfully began or the new city of Fairstrife. It's funny, almost as soon as we cleared out the new Shinra building of Gigases, and other threats, people began arriving from all over the world. Within the first year, we had thousands of people in the building, safe from the threat of the remaining Gigases. It's been years, decades even, since the Gigas out break began, and they're still out there, but we're all safe here. It's good to know, that even in my old age, Red XIII will live on, continuing to take care of everyone for as long as they need. I have no doubt that someday, the world will right itself. Gigas will be gone, and our race may return to the way it once was. Perhaps Red XIII will even live to see that day, as for me, every night I go to sleep, praying to see my love, Zack, again. I have a feeling that tonight will be the night. I hope so, I've lived to see many years because of him, I want to see both him, and Cloud again.

==##==

The next day, Red XIII found the deceased body of the elderly woman he had known so long. He wasn't surprised, he was happy in fact. He knew of how much she had missed their friends, and now she was with them all once again. As for Red, he knew that he still had a job to do. For the race that had almost destroyed the planet, now that they had near wiped out themselves, he had no doubt they would learn from their lesson. He would lead them in their new lives, in their new existence until his dying day.

The End


End file.
